Stories about Ohio's people, places, and events inspired by the Manuscripts Collections of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Northwest Ohio Veterans Oral History Project

Julie Mayle at the AthenaeumPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania

The Hayes Center’s
Manuscripts Division recently launched its NorthwestOhio Veterans Oral History Project. Its purpose is to collect,
preserve, and make accessible the personal remembrances and recollections of
America’s veterans through personal narratives, correspondence, and visual
materials. The project focuses on veterans who served from before World War II
to the present day conflicts of Afghanistan and Iraq.

This fall Manuscripts Assistant Julie Mayle
attended Giving
Voice, a conference hosted by the Athenaeum of
Philadelphia. The national conference brought together
historians and preservation experts to discuss best practices in collecting
veterans’ experiences. Julie also learned strategies for preserving audiovisual
materials; making them accessible to students and educators; developing exhibits
and educational programming.

Julie has begun
interviewing veterans in their homes and at various locations. She makes an audio
recording of the interview, which, along with scans of photographs, military documents,
letters, and diaries, are preserved as part of the Hayes
Presidential Center’s Local History Collection. Julie has also uploaded
the audio recordings and scans of veterans’ photographs and documents to YoutubeandHistorypin where
anyone can access them and listen to the audio recording. They are alsolinked on the Hayes
Center’s website.

Our local history
is an invaluable resource for our community. It offers an open doorway to our
past and to the extraordinary individuals who have helped create our community’s
story. Although no tribute can truly match the magnitude of our veterans’
service and sacrifice for our nation, we can preserve their remembrances and
learn from their experiences.

Julie prepares a packet
containing a typed transcription of the interview and a CD of the digital files
for each veteran. All of the originals are returned. However, the Hayes
Presidential Center would be pleased to accept veterans’ donations of their original
letters, photographs, diaries, and documents. Through the years, numerous
veterans have donated their collections to the Hayes Center. They are part of
the permanent holdings in the Local History Collection.

If you or anyone
you know are or were a military veteran and would like to participate in the
Hayes Center’s project, please contact Julie Mayle or Curator of Manuscripts
Nan Card at 419-332-2081 or email jmayle@rbhayes.org
or ncard@rbhayes.org.